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Posted by Joseph Lynn, Obl. ULM
April 5, 2011 -
#Monasticism Oblates
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696 views
Monasticism began as a recognizable institution in the fourth century, but monastic values can be seen in many practices before this time.
The first monks who moved out of the cities into the deserts of Egypt and Palestine are know as the Desert Fathers. The practiced a radical asceticism, often eating very little, sleeping very little, keeping silent, usually living alone, and reciting the Psalter, often from memory, every day. Such practices were extreme but the represented an honest attempt to be generous in giving their lives completely to God. Also, the austerity of these monks caused other people to think about the lives they were leading and sometimes to question their own lifestyles.
The monks of the monks of the fourth century concerned themselves only with living the Christ-life as fully as possible. They did not want to change the world; they wanted only to change themselves with the power of God's grace. But as these monks were changed by God's grace, many other people came out into the desert to seek counsel from the Fathers and found that their example could help them change for the better too.
The Desert Fathers had to learn to avoid the pitfalls in their ascetic way of life. For one thing, there was the danger of taking pride in their acts of self-denial. Another danger was self-absorption to the point of losing sight for the need to care for other people. To counteract such dangers, and to accommodate the many people who wanted to give their lives totally to God but who were unable to practice such austerities, monks began to live in groups under a superior who could guide the others in the Christ-life. In these first monasteries, the acetic life became less extreme and a greater emphasis was placed on the life of charity toward others which living in community requires.
